From a professional standpoint, Nathan Hoot, MD, Ph.D., understands the value of medical research that leads to new, groundbreaking drugs in the treatment of rare diseases. And as an emergency medicine physician, he's familiar with adjusting ventilators and managing patients' airways. But the magnitude of these matters also weigh on Hoot personally — as the father of a child with a rare genetic disease.
Read moreThe new observation that strains of V. cholerae can be expelled into the environment after being ingested by protozoa, and that these bacteria are then primed for colonization and infection in humans, could help explain why cholera is so persistent in aquatic environments. The disease-causing bacteria are protected in the protozoan gut and ejected into the environment in membrane-bound expelled food vacuoles (EFVs).
Read moreA new study suggests that transmission of a protozoan parasite from insects may also cause leishmaniasis-like symptoms in people. The parasite, however, does not respond to treatment with standard leishmaniasis drugs.
Read moreScientists have successfully used microneedle biosensors to accurately detect changes in antibiotic levels in the body, for the first time.
Read moreNew research suggests that patients with sepsis and septic lung injury could have a better chance of survival and recover more quickly when treated with vitamin C infusions. On average, the vitamin C group spent three fewer days in the ICU at day 28 and a week less in the hospital overall by day 60 than the placebo group.
Read morePeople who live in rural counties in five states heavily affected by the opioid epidemic must drive longer distances to obtain methadone, a treatment for opioid addiction, compared to individuals from urban counties, say researchers. Their study suggests these long drive times in rural counties could be reduced by making methadone more accessible in primary care clinics.
Read moreFor the first time ever, a professor has observed a crystallized iron product called hemozoin being made in mammals, with widespread implications for future research and treatment of blood disorders. Findings could be used to treat sickle cell disease and malaria patients, while opening up diverse research avenues across immunology, parasitology, neuroscience, microbiology, and even urology.
Read moreBiologists blazing new approaches to studying Alzheimer's have made a major finding on combating inflammation linked to the disease. The researchers' discovery about the role of a protein called TOM-1 heralds a shift toward examining the molecular underpinnings of Alzheimer's processes.
Read moreHigh value chemicals used to make pharmaceuticals could be made much cheaper and quicker thanks to a series of new catalysts.
Read moreResearchers have identified new genetic signals for the regulation of how infants grow. This may be a crucial step in the fight against growth-related diseases.
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